Once you’re in training try to team up with some previous 121 pilots and they can help you with all the 121 stuff. I’d imagine everything up to pushing back can be confusing as you can’t visualize where you are in the process before pushback. Talking to the tug driver then to ramp. When to call for checklists. FA shutting the door then triggering a checklist and ramp call. Then of course bidding and using FLICA which is for your schedule.

 

That’s both out of date info and overly dramatic. The paper tiger sessions will be with instructors who’ve never flown the plane, but are type rated and well versed in it’s systems. They’re just there to teach you buttonology. Chuck Yeager is not needed for that. The actual sims will be instructor pilots who also fly the line.

”121” is overblown nonsense. The job is leisurely and easy. Between consulting with your instructors and reading the FOM, you can do it in a month reading 20 pages a night, you ought to have a very good idea of what is meant by certain phrases.

 

The instructors are very knowledgeable on the airbus, no doubt. His critique on the lack of indoc and general subjects relating to 121 is spot on. Someone clicking through a slideshow for 30 minutes really glosses over the nuances of 121 Regs.

 

The FOM is either written directly from the regs/Ops specs or is more restrictive than the CFR’s. Again. It’s overblown.

 

Out of date? I am going to have to disagree with you on that.

There are no "paper tiger" sessions anymore so I don't even know what portion of training you are referencing. Indoc/CPT is taught by an FOI that yes, is typed in the airplane, but they've never flown the "AIRPLANE" as I previously said; only the sim and they have NEVER flown the line and they do struggle to walk you through a 121 flight because they've never done it.....

After CPT the training does get better as they are active line pilots. But for the first few weeks of training the knowledge of line operations is weak. Don't get me wrong, if they don't know something they will work hard to track down the correct answer for you but if we are going to be training more and more pilots where this is their first 121 job.... the training will need to change.

 

I’m going to imagine we’re gonna start losing even more guys to United now that they have an AIP.

BTW, speaking of United‘s AIP I was on their forms and it didn’t seem like they had any details just an Internet rumor, I guess I don’t know I couldn’t tell if they were being funny or not.

does anybody have a link to United‘s AIP or details on the AIP?

 

NC will send AIP to MEC, they will decide on MemRat. IF it goes to members voting details will come out. That's what I think anyway.

 

We have 5 sims now. Been that way for awhile. By paper Tiger I was referencing the touch screen trainers or whatever they’re called now. The point remains. You’re just trying to find buttons and press them when you should. The MCDU’s are only partially functional in the sims. Somehow it works out.

Again, the 121 stuff is overblown. It’s not hard. We’re not running starships around the galaxy.

 

You mean we can’t run the Airbus in under 12 Parsecs on the Kessell Run?

 

There are only 4 sims in FLL being used right now for new hire.

Agree to disagree. But there is a reason that initial regional airline training includes a thorough Indoc course. It's easy if you've done it before but not if you've never been on the line.